


It's Always Been You

by laadychat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Identity Reveal, They are so inlove, for my dear friend<3, little angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24622024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laadychat/pseuds/laadychat
Summary: It was subtle and before he knew it, she meant so much to him. So he paid attention to her - to everything about her.The leap wasn't that high when he understood. Understood that she was her.-This is for @death-by-ladybug on tumber<333
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 8
Kudos: 259





	It's Always Been You

The shift was subtle.

He doesn't remember when it all started, actually. One day, she was stuttering while saying hello and before he knew it, they were laughing over something he found on the internet. It wasn't until Nino brought it up to his attention that _yeah_ , Marinette seemed so comfortable around him now.

 _"Dude, it's like she's stealing my best friend from me."_ He remembers Nino stating and it was only because of the teasing smile on his lips that Adrien relaxed. And then he started thinking.

He doesn't recall the exact moment of wanting to be in her constant presence, to be the one to make her laugh. It was almost as if there wasn't a time before all of this - of him and Marinette teasing each other, of playing pranks on their friends or even sneaking out of his fencing class to grab some ice cream.

So he started watching her closely. Well, more so than he usually does.

Because he does remember a time he thought she didn't like him. A time where he swore he must have done something wrong whenever she ran away from him. For kwami sake, there was a time she avoided him for a week. When he brought it up to Nino, the latter had just sighed and he _swore_ Nino knew something but he wasn't sharing.

The next day, Marinette had returned his smile. She even returned his greeting while locking gaze with him. Was that the day everything changed?

That was about three months ago - he knows this because he saved it on his calendar. He'll get to the meaning of whatever he did that made her avoid him.

He doesn't exactly remember much after. The next incident he could remember is the day Marinette came through the classroom door with the most mischievous smile he's ever seen on her face. She sat down in Nino's seat and grinned, nudging him;

_"Watch this." She leaned back, a smile dancing on her lips and Adrien couldn't help but follow her demands. It didn't even occur to him to question her - something in him just screamed to 'trust her'. So Adrien shifted his gaze from her and towards the door, curious as to what was just beyond it._

_Right when he was about to turn back and ask her what he was supposed to see, the door slammed open and Alya stomped her way towards the noirnette next to him, glaring. "Marinette."_

_"Alya." Marinette met her stare and crossed her arms, the smile only widening._

_Eyes glancing between the two girls, he was about to speak up to defuse the tension when his eyes moved towards the brunette's hair._

_Which was now definitely not brunette anymore._

_And behind her, two more students stepped into the room, with equally different hair colors._

_Dropping his jaw, Adrien took in the appearance of all three of them before finding the words to speak. "What happened."_

_Huffing, Alya waved her hands towards a smug Marinette. "She happened, sunshine."_

_"Take this as a warning," Kim sighed as he dragged himself away from their desk and towards his. "Never take a bet against Marinette Dupain-Cheng."_

_"But hey, I'm totally digging this color." Nino grinned, shrugging as he set his stuff on his desk. "It's better than that awful green she tried us to do."_

_It was that day that he heard the full, gleeful laughter of a certain girl and he was completely enthralled by it. He's only ever seen it, heard it from a distance, but never this close. Never this close to see the way her eyes shut and the crinkle of her nose._

_Standing, she leaned over and pressed a peck on Alya's cheek. "I told you it wasn't impossible." Still grinning, she locked arms with her and made their way to the desks behind him. "Don't listen to them, Adrien. I'm always up for some betting." And then she turned that blinding smile towards him._

_He couldn't understand why his heart was beating so quickly._

_-_

Was that the time it started then? That was when it went from just Marinette pulling the pranks to Marinette and Adrien, so could that be the starting point?

It certainly was the first time he learned to never doubt her. He knew before that Marinette was capable but it was different to see how she got the better of three of the most outspoken, confident people in the classroom.

Granted, it was _their_ fault for doubting Marinette.

So that's might be where it started but it definitely wasn't the catalyst for how their friendship is currently. His mind goes back to the day she somehow got him out of the watchful eye of his fencing instructor. Whatever she told him, it was enough to prevent him from contacting Adrien's father.

That was the day he learned how extremely sneaky she could be. They somehow eluded fans and camera and suck into an arcade. The first time Adrien has ever stepped into one. If Marinette wasn't keeping track of time, he would have lost himself there for _hours._

Though, it definitely was not the last time he snuck out to play some games with her. It was also the first time they hung out by themselves, without their ever-nosy best friends. It was the day he had(somewhat) all of Mariette's attention.

No wonder people loved hanging out with her.

When they snuck back into the school before his driver came to pick him up, he asked her if they could do it again.

 _"Adrien Agreste, I'd be more than happy to sneak you out."_ She said and he believed her then.

And she did exactly that, sneaking him out whenever home got too suffocating, whenever work got under his skin, whenever he needed to _breathe_.

So Adrien thinks this is what started it all. And it wasn't just the sneaking around - it was also when they started studying together, when they started eating lunch together, and when he was on pun-sharing basis with Tom.

It still was weird to address adults as their first names but they insisted and Adrien doesn't like to disappoint.

It was days like that when Marinette would groan, declaring that they were insufferable together. Her reactions always reminded him of someone else he knew.

He swears they even glare at him the same way.

_Ladybug._

He was laying on his bed, looking through the photos he and Marinette took earlier when the thought him. Shaking his head, he quickly sat up. Before his mind was even able to wander there, Plagg was pulling on his ear, demanding he transform and get of his room now, if only to stop his 'weird, teenage sighs'.

It was then that he remembered tonight was a patrol night.

-

"How are you still _alive?"_ Chat Noir looked at her, eyes wide as what she said just sunk in.

She shrugged her shoulder and threw her hand out in front of her. "Honestly, I don't even know at this point. I swear the gods are laughing at me right now. Every grace I have while I'm Ladybug just vanishes when I go back to being my civilian self." She ran a hand down her face and slumped back. "I swear, if it wasn't for my friend, I'm sure you would have to find a new Ladybug."

"Send my thanks to them." He shook his head. The day she admitted to being clumsy when she wasn't Ladybug, he didn't believe it. She always walked with such confidence, he expected her to be like that as her civilian self.

"Remember when we first met?" She snorted, raising up with her hand on her yo-yo. "I'm madly clumsy. See you later, kitty."

With that said, she swung away. But Chat Noir froze, staring after the spotted heroine. What she said stuck with him. It stuck with him all the way until he made it home, trusting his arms and legs to lead him there as his mind wandered.

_'I'm madly clumsy.'_

Isn't that what Marinette had said earlier?

He detransformed and flopped on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He swears Marinette even said it in the same way when he caught her earlier. Adrien couldn't stop the thoughts that were swirling in his mind now, not with his earlier observation either adding into the mix.

It was easy to compare Marinette and Ladybug. And it scared him, how easy it was. For everything Marinette did, he has a memory of Ladybug doing the same thing. Adrien knows he should stop there - if anything to protect his heart.

The heart that still wanted Ladybug.

The heart that started making room for one more noirnette.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and buried himself in his blanket, determined to forget it all. But sleep had another plan for him.

-

As he watched his classmate closer, it was harder to banish those thoughts from his mind. She would say something, in that confident, no-nonsense way that just would remind him of _her._ The way she lifted her chin in defiance, the way she helped anyone who needed it, the way she just knew exactly what to do - Adrien was sure he was going crazy.

Did he want to know Ladybug's civilian self that he projected it onto Marinette?

At least, that's what he said to himself until he started seeing _Marinette_ in _Ladybug._

Especially in times where it was just the two of them, late into the night, just enjoying each other's company. In the way she laughed, the way she sometimes stumbled over her words, the way she _always smelled like a bakery._

He couldn't tell Plagg - how was he suppose to bring up the fact that he might know Ladybug's identity? That the crush he has on Ladybug has most definitely rolled over to Marinette as well, even before connecting the two?

Oh kwami, he was in so much trouble.

Because now he can't deny it, can't lie to himself anymore. There were too many coincidence, too many hints and clues.

His partner is one of his best friends and he is so, so screwed.

His fierce partner is his compassionate friend and what were the chances that the two girls he admired most in the world was indeed the same person?

The same person that has his heart in her palms and he wouldn't want it any other way.

So when Ladybug asked him who he admired most, with her searching deep blue gaze he was always swept away in, he couldn't hide it anymore - not from her.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He muttered softly, watching her closely.

Her eyebrows shot up, nearly disappearing in her hairline as she stared back. "What? You know Marinette?"

But the panic he was expecting... wasn't there. She was watching him back, her gaze expressing her curiosity, confusion, but there was something else there. And that something else gave him the confidence to continue, to tell her.

"Yeah," he answered, voice hushed. "I know her pretty well." He held his breath, for he knew this was a delicate game he was playing. He caught her gaze and held it, finally allowing his walls to fall, to surrender to her.

And when she smiled, looking down as she leaned closer, the breath left his body. "Ask me."

It took a moment to regain his ability to speak but when he did, he held onto her hand. "Who do you admire the most, m'lady?"

Her gaze locked on his and the world faded away, leaving just the two of them in their own space of time. And this time, he followed the pull that always tugged him to her, followed it until all he saw were those blue eyes he loved so much.

"Adrien Agreste." She whispered, leaning up and closing the distance between them.

_He was hers, heart, mind, and soul. Kwami, he was so, so screwed._

**Author's Note:**

> these two and this show will kill what little is left of my soul. ATLA and Zutara got to me first


End file.
